title: Serological diagnosis of leprosy in patients in vietnam by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with Mycobacterium leprae-derived major membrane protein II.
abstract: A serological diagnostic test using phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I) developed in the 1980s is commercially available, but the method is still inefficient in detecting all forms of leprosy. Therefore, more-specific and -reliable serological methods have been sought. We have characterized major membrane protein II (MMP-II) as a candidate protein for a new serological antigen. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the MMP-II antigen (MMP-II ELISA) for detecting antibodies in leprosy patients and patients' contacts in the mid-region of Vietnam and compared to the results to those for the PGL-I method (PGL-I ELISA). The results showed that 85% of multibacillary patients and 48% of paucibacillary patients were positive by MMP-II ELISA. Comparison between the serological tests showed that positivity rates for leprosy patients were higher with MMP-II ELISA than with PGL-I ELISA. Household contacts (HHCs) showed low positivity rates, but medical staff members showed comparatively high positivity rates, with MMP-II ELISA. Furthermore, monitoring of results for leprosy patients and HHCs showed that MMP-II is a better index marker than PGL-I. Overall, the epidemiological study conducted in Vietnam suggests that serological testing with MMP-II would be beneficial in detecting leprosy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Leprosy Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 4-2-1 Aoba-cho, Higashimurayama, Tokyo 189-0002, Japan. mkai@nih.go.jp
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kai
authors.forename: Nhu Ha
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Nguyen Phuc
authors.forename: Thuy Huong
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Hoang Thi
authors.forename: An Hoang
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fukutomi
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: Tetsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mukai
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Tan Thanh
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makino
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000276:immunology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D006017:Glycolipids; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C500901:major membrane protein II, Mycobacterium leprae; C045169:phenolic glycolipid I, Mycobacterium leprae